How do you sell something if you don’t believe it is right for the customer?

by Dave Kahle

Q.  How do you sell something if you don’t believe it is right for the customer?

A.  What a great question. I suspect that every salesperson, at some point in his career, wrestles with that question.  What should you do about selling something you don’t believe in?

          Let’s think about this together.  We should start out with a clear understanding of what we mean by “sell.”  I really believe this is central to a resolution of the question.

          One definition of “sell” is this:  You have the product, and you are actively and strongly promoting it as an appropriate solution to the customer’s needs.

          Or, it could be that “sell” means:  Your customer has discovered the product on his own, and is actively seeking it.  They discovered that you are the source, and want to buy it from you.

          You can see the difference, I hope.  In the first situation, you are recommending the product, while in the second, you are only responding to the customer’s request.

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          One other thought as a preface; your question said: “If you don’t believe it is right for the customer.”  Notice your words – “If you don’t believe”.  We’re talking about beliefs and opinions, here, not necessarily facts.  In other words, you could be wrong.

          You don’t think that it’s right for the customer.  But you probably don’t know the customer’s needs, the customer’s situation, and the customer’s values nearly as well as the customer does.  Allow for the fact that the customer probably knows better than you do what is right for them.  So, it is entirely possible that you don’t believe it is right for the customer, but the customer, knowing his situation much more deeply and clearly than you know it, believes that it is right for them.

Assembling an Answer

Now, let’s try to assemble these random thoughts into a coherent response to your question.

          If you are proactively promoting the product like the first scenario above and you don’t think it is right for this particular customer, then I believe that you have an ethical responsibility to share that belief with the customer.  Temper your comments with the... READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE